On 10 October 2015, Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (CPTUT / DİSK), Confederation of Public Employees’ Trade Unions (CPETU / KESK), Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (UCTEA / TMMOB) and Turkish Medical Association (TMA / TTB) called a meeting for a Labor, Peace and Democracy in Ankara. Thousands of people across the Turkey met at Ankara Train Station. 103 citizens lost their lives in the two terrorist bombings that materialized right after the march started, hundreds were injured and thousands were stayed alive by minutes only. This attack, the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of the Turkish Republic, has gone down in history as a crime against humanity; and the intent of the massacre, embodying its time and space, inflicted a deep wound on  public conscience.

The sense of Train Station Square comprehended thereafter 10 October, entails a different approach to the urban space and constituents of this space where the incident happened. In order to commemorate those who lost their lives in the massacre, to remember and remind the crime of humanity that was suffered, this square where social deprivation took place requires reconsideration through a holistic approach and a kind of “memorial/monument square”. Because remembrance is a significant practice that carries social memory towards the future. Reproducing memory in space through practices enables us to perceive the city as a common ground that is alive with its all elements, wherein social consciousness and awareness are reproduced along the generations.

Competition aims to make sure that 10 October is not to be forgotten on a social level; to honor the memories of the individuals, who lost their lives, and the individuals, who survived; and to reproduce the memory in space and everyday life. The objective is to reproduce Ankara Train Station and the Square as a public space, where citizens will come together, dedicated to our common values of labor, peace and democracy for generations. 

Objectives

In reinterpretation and design of Ankara Train Station Square, aftermath of 10 October Massacre, main goals are as follows:

  • To enable designing and a change for Ankara Train Station Square as a city square that can be perceived within the scope of wholeness of the city in line with the importance of the happening in social memory;
  • To ensure a common understanding of the square as the square of labor, democracy and peace and to pave the way for a change of the square through a comprehensive urban space aimed at strengthening public awareness with respect to the massacre;
  • To interpret memorial of 10 October as a fundamental design dimension of the cultural memory space of Ankara Train Station Square;
  • To develop designs in order to carry Train Station Square as an important constituent of the urban setting/configuration since the foundation of the Republic and public and social space into the future;
  • To put forward an urban quality, with options, in which differences can coexist within the framework of respect and dialogue on the basis of peace and democracy;
  • To contribute to the preservation of memory of 10 October, conveying it to next generations, the formation of collective memory and the development of social conscience;
  • To pave the way for the remembrance of crimes against humanity in similar areas where terrorist attacks are committed throughout the city of Ankara, and for developing ideas, perspectives and model proposals for the reinterpretation and design of such areas;
  • To emphasize the process of social production of public space against the dominant space production practices;
  • To strengthen the value of the urban image by reconsidering the square in an integrated approach.

Language: English

Program: Project and Report

The competitors are expected to submit the following:

  • Conceptual Map (Scale 1/5000): The schema that guides and conceptualizes design idea; ensures that the relationships in the urban area (relations of central areas, transportation system, historical, cultural, architectural values etc.) are handled; and presents the principles and strategies produced for the design of the memorial square by means of questioning the meaning of space, the spatial relations of the competition area both in the city as a whole and in-depth with its close environment.
  • Urban Design Project for Memorial Square (Scale 1/500): The design project that arranges and analyzes the relationships of functions, open spaces, building(s) and environment, and overall transportation and circulation relations of the memorial square site proposed in front of and around the train station in line with the specified principles and design elements; and that (re)produces the space.  
  • Design Project for Memorial Place (Scale 1/200):  Plans, sections and views setting forth the scope and form of the place for commemoration practice in detail (i.e. shape, structure, materials etc.).
  • Models:  Digital renders for three dimensional graphical expression of the Project.
  • Report: It is expected that design ideas are supported with adequate written explanations on the projects. Besides, a written report expressing the design idea accompanying the project poster must be assembled with limits of min.1000 - max.2000 words (in PDF). 

Jury Members:

  • Prof. Dr. Jale Erzen . Art Historian. Middle East Technical University
  • Prof. Dr. Baykan Günay . Urban Planner . TED University
  • Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın . Architect . Middle East Technical University
  • Prof. Dr. Heba Safey Eldeen . Architect . Mısr International University
  • Prof. Dr.İclal Dinçer . Architect - Urban Planner . Yıldız Technical University
  • Prof. Dr. Stavros Stavrides . Architect . National Technical University of Athens
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bülent Batuman . Architect . Bilkent University
  • Dr. Gaye Çulcuoğlu . Landscape Architect . Bilkent & Atılım University
  • Dr. Jean - François Perouse . Urbanist . French Research Institute
  • Dr. Jerzy Grochulski . Architect .  Warsaw University of Technology
  • Metin Yurdanur . Sculptor